Nintendo Wii U Hits Grey Market & Sells For Outrageous Prices

The Nintendo Wii U has sold through a massive number of pre-orders and with the holiday shopping season upon us the sold out units are now reaching the grey market with some insanely high premiums.

Video game retailer Gamestop has reported pre-order sales of 500,000 units and 1.2 million games , more than double the original Wii U. You may recall that the grey market for the original Wii games was also very competitive, sometimes pricing consoles upwards of $500.

This time around hopeful sellers are trying to capitalize on a lack of Wii U devices by offering the gaming console for upwards of $3,000 on eBay. One seller who might price themselves out of the market is also willing to throw in a 10-pack of Twinkies for the price of $5,000.

If buyers are a bit more patient they can try to grab a Nintendo Wii U off Amazon for just $100 over the original retail price for the gaming console. Grabbing a console from Amazon unfortunately is a bit tricky as nervous parents flock to the internet in search of the gaming system they didn’t realize would be sold out.

For customers lucky enough to pick up a 32GB Wii U at retail pricing they are still paying $349. Amazon however is selling just the basic device through it’s many Amazon retailers at costs starting at $399.99. The 8GB Wii U retails for just $299.

The big question for Nintendo will be whether or not it will continue to witness high demand for yet another new type of gaming console. When the Wii first debuts many storefronts were sold out of the device for the better part of a full year. Nintendo at the time claimed there were production speed issues, while many critics believed Nintendo was control supply levels in order to create a feeling of exclusivity.

Would you be willing to pay hundreds of dollars over retail pricing to get your hands on a Nintendo Wii U?

[Image via ZDNet]